Air Quality (Dust)

Requirements for Special Events

If an event is going to use unstabilized or dirt parking areas, entrances, roadways or any other unstabilized surface, Pinal County Air Quality will, at a minimum, require that reasonable precautions be taken to prevent fugitive dust. Reasonable precautions include, but are not limited to, having a water truck available, treating dirt areas with a chemical stabilizer or preventing people from accessing unstabilized areas. Additional dust control requirements will apply for construction projects that include improvements such as grading out new parking areas, installing utilities or building structures. Events that plan on allowing or having campfires or bonfires will also be subject to certain restrictions and permitting requirements.

Fugitive dust are particles lifted into the air caused by man-made and natural activities such as the movement of soil, vehicles, equipment, blasting, and wind. Fugitive dust is emitted into the air by activities that disturb the soil, such as earthmoving and vehicular/equipment traffic on unpaved surfaces.

All events that are using an unstablized surface (i.e. dirt parking areas, entrances and roadways) must:

Complete the Air Quality Special Events Checklist. Pinal County Air Quality will review the form and discuss the control measures that will be required with the event coordinator. Generally, dirt parking areas and dirt roads leading to the event will have to be watered and or stabilized in some manner.

If the event organizers plan on developing or improving the event grounds by grading off new parking areas, putting in additional roads, laying utility lines, constructing new or temporary buildings, or other such activities the project may require a dust registration. If the property improvement project disturbs more than 0.1 acre of surface area the project coordinator or property owner must obtain a dust registration. A permit fee of $75 to $2000 will be assessed depending on the number of acres disturbed and the applicant must commit to dust controls measures that will be implemented during the project.

Events that plan on having any type of open burning are subject to certain limitations and requirements.

At no time can household or commercial waste be burned. Generally only raw plant material can be burned.Campfires are allowed without a permit as long as they are 3 feet or less in diameter and 2 feet or less in height.

All bonfires require a no cost burn permitand must be sponsored by a city, town, county statutory district or other political subdivision.

A burn permitis required for fires set for the disposal of landscape waste and these fires must be conducted during the allowable burn times of 8:00 am to 4:00 pm April 1 through September 30 or 9:00 am to 4:30 pm October 1 through March 31.

Burning may be banned via burn permit suspensions, fire district / department burn bans, or statutory requirements annually from approximately May 1st thru September 30th.